Born in Hollywood in 1952, Ellis began his career as an actor in the 1975 Kurt Russell film "The Strongest Man in the World." He later moved into stunt work, working as a stunt coordinator on numerous projects, such as "Airplane II: The Sequel," "Fatal Attraction" and the TV series "V."

He was also in charge of action sequences for films such as "The Matrix Revolutions" and "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."

Ellis made his directorial debut with the Disney live-action film "Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco," moving on to such thrillers as "Final Destination 2," "The Final Destination" and "Cellular."